FIRST READING
“I am full of tossing till the dawn. ”
A reading from the Book of Job (Job 7: 1-4.6-7)
Job spoke, saying: “Has not man a hard service upon earth, and are not his days like the days of a hireling? Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hireling who looks for his wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise? ’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and come to their end without hope. “Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good.”
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm147: 1-2.3-4.5-6 (R. see 3a)
R/. Praise the Lord who heals the broken-hearted.
Or: Alleluia.
How good to sing psalms to our God;
how pleasant to chant fitting praise!
The Lord builds up Jerusalem
and brings back Israel’s exiles. R.
He heals the broken-hearted;
he binds up all their wounds.
He counts out the number of the stars;
he calls each one by its name. R.
Our LORD is great and almighty;
his wisdom can never be measured.
The Lord lifts up the lowly;
he casts down the wicked to the ground. R.
SECOND READING
“Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 9:16-19.22-23)
Brethren: If I preach the Gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may make the Gospel free of charge, not making full use of my right in the Gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
The word of the Lord.
ALLELUIA Matthew 8: 17
Alleluia. Christ took our infirmities and bore our diseases. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“He healed many who were sick with various diseases.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 1:29-39)
At that time: Leaving the synagogue, Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother- in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him of her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them. That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered together about the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him followed him, and they found him and said to him, “Every one is searching for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection:
Job laments: “My pain is more than I can bear. I can’t sleep at night. I shall not see happiness again. ”This is a cry we all feel within ourselves at some time or other in life. Maybe our hurt is not physical but emotional, such as a marriage in distress, a child’s rebellion or a friend’s betrayal and so on. When we feel pain, regardless of its sources, we want to join Job and say, “I shall never see happiness again. “This is a crisis of faith. Jesus comes into our world of suffering, takes us by the hand like He did with Simon’s mother-in-law, and heals us. Jesus sees that the deepest healing we all need is spiritual. It is in this context that we can best understand the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick that bring us spiritual healing, strength and peace. We must constantly ask of the grace to bear suffering patiently.